Going through yet another adaptation to its constantly evolving rotation, the Baylor basketball team has to figure out how to play without Josh Ojianwuna.
In a quick turnaround after the 6-10 junior center suffered a season-ending knee injury just two days ago, the Bears (15-9, 7-6) struggled to keep up with the sixth-ranked Houston Cougars, falling 76-65 in an ESPN "Big Monday" game at the Fertita Center.
"It's hard, because you don't have practice time. It happened (Saturday), and you play today," said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team fell to 15-9 overall, 7-6 in the Big 12 and 2-7 in true road games.
"Then, you just got Langston (Love) back, and he did some things really well. But you've got to blend and put people together, and it's going to take a little time for us to figure that out. Defensively, we've got to get a lot better – 51% defensive field goal percentage 42% from 3. That's not going to win a lot of games against well-coached teams."
As good as the Cougars (20-4, 12-1) shot it, the Bears were actually better, shooting a sizzling 57.9% from the field and 9-of-15 from outside the arc (60%). The difference was Houston scoring 28 points on Baylor's 15 turnovers and 16 second-chance points on nine offensive boards.
"When I talk about rebounding, I talk about wanting it more than the other team," said Miami transfer Norchad Omier, who scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor while grabbing just five rebounds in 37 minutes. "You've just got to want it more. I give credit to Houston, they're tough guys. But we've just got to want it more."
Six of Baylor's 15 turnovers came in a decisive five-minute stretch of the second half, when the Cougars had bookend 3-pointers by Emanuel Sharp and Baylor transfer LJ Cryer in a 17-1 run that pushed the lead to 71-46 with 5:43 left in the game.
"They're such a good half-court team that we really tried to get out and get down court when we could," Drew said, "and I think that led to a couple of turnovers that we normally don't have. That probably puts it at 13 or 12. Now, Houston is a great defense, best in the country in KenPom analytics, third overall, first in our conference. So, they cause some of them. But with as many guards as we've got, that shouldn't happen."
Without Ojianwuna, the Bears went with a four-guard lineup that included the 6-7 Omier at post and the 6-5 Love joining Duke transfer Jeremy Roach and freshmen VJ Edgecombe and Robert O. Wright III. They actually held their own on the glass, closing the gap to 22-20 with a strong second half, but had only four offensive boards.
"I don't know the last time we only got four offensive rebounds," Drew said. "I had hair, and it wasn't gray. So, we'll have to go to the record books for that one. But credit Houston. They, obviously, do a great job. But without Josh, we've got to figure a way to get to the glass a little bit more."
Cryer, who led the Cougars with 14 points, hit two 3-pointers and assisted on a Terrance Arceneaux layup in an 8-1 run in the first 2 ½ minutes of the second half that pushed an eight-point halftime lead (38-30) out to 46-31.
Baylor did get it back to single digits, pulling within 54-45 on a pair of free throws by Omier with 10:46 left. The Cougars answered, though, with that 17-1 run that put this one out of reach.
"It definitely hurt," Omier said of losing Ojianwuna just when the Bears got back to full strength with the return of Love and Edgecombe. "Prayers out for Josh . . . We've just got to go out and play and figure it out. But he helped us a lot. I think a lot of people took him for granted, but we didn't."
The Bears did seem to figure some things out late, outscoring the Cougars, 19-5, in the last 5 ½ minutes in a stretch that included back-to-back 3-pointers by Love, who scored 15 points in his second start of the season and first since the Dec. 4 game at UConn.
A perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line, Edgecombe had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, but the freshman phenom also had five of Baylor's 15 turnovers. Wright added 10 points, with Roach hitting two first-half 3-pointers for all six of his points in the game.
Down to a seven-man rotation again, Baylor's bench was outscored 24-1 by the Houston reserves, with Jayden Nunn and Cal transfer Jalen Celestine shooting a combined 0-for-7 overall and 0-for-4 from 3-point range.
Houston got 12 points and six assists from Milos Uzan, 11 points from Arceneaux and 10 points apiece from Sharp and J'Wan Roberts.
Returning home for their next two, the Bears will face West Virginia (15-8, 6-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday and 13th-ranked Arizona (17-6, 11-1) at 9 p.m. next Monday, Feb. 17, at Foster Pavilion. The Mountaineers host BYU on Tuesday, while the Wildcats will play at Kansas State on Tuesday and host Houston on Saturday before coming to Waco.
